curious and curiouser
by queen-sheep
Summary: The more Hermione thought about it, the more instances of strange behaviour from Ron began surfacing in her mind.


_For the QLFC S7R6, written as a reserve chaser 3 for the Kenmare Kestrels _

_Prompt: Write about an accusation of unfaithfulness in a relationship and the aftermath of this. (It's up to you whether the accusation is true or not)_

* * *

Hermione chewed worriedly on her dinner as she stared across the table at Ron. He was acting oddly, to say the least. He had greeted her with a kiss on the cheek after work and there was a delicious dinner ready on the dinner table like usual.

But afterwards, Ron had barely spoken a word. Usually, he'd be retelling stories about his day—about that awful lady at the market who'd taken the last zucchini from under his nose, or the kids that were play fighting in front of the ice cream store, or the dog who nearly peed on his shoes.

In fact, the more she thought about it, the more strange instances of unfamiliar behaviour from Ron began surfacing in her mind. He'd been tossing and turning at night instead of sleeping like a log like he normally did. He was completely restless after dinner and had taken to pacing around. She had barely noticed at the time because she had an important project at work that was taking up all her usual time with both him and their friends.

Hermione finally set her utensils down. "Ron, is something the matter?"

Ron's gaze flickered downwards, towards her, then away. His brow was furrowed and troubled. "It's nothing," he said.

He was obviously lying, but Hermione let it pass. If there was one thing she learned early on in their marriage, it was that it was better not to push him when he didn't feel like talking.

"Alright," she sighed. She'd give it another week, then ask again. "But I'm always here if you need someone to talk to."

Ron's shoulders slumped and he shot her a gentle smile. "Thanks, 'Mione."

…

Hermione gently shut the door, attempting to make as little noise as possible in light of Ron's recent sleeping issues. It was nearing midnight already and she had just gotten home from work, where they were finally beginning to wrap up what had been half a year's worth of the project. She had owled ahead and told Ron not to wait up.

The light in the living room was still on though. Had Ron forgotten to turn off the light? Hermione frowned in confusion and stepped through the dimly lit hallway.

"Ron?" she called, just in case.

"I know you're cheating on me," came his low, angry voice. For a moment, Hermione swore it was directed at her and she found herself reflexively going through all of her actions over the past few months, utterly baffled. Then she heard a plaintive meow and Hermione peeked into the room to see Ron holding up Crookshanks and glowering into his face.

Crookshanks meowed again and wiggled free, dropping noiselessly to the ground and dashing past where Hermione stood in the doorframe.

Hermione raised a single eyebrow. "What in the world are you doing?" she asked, more confused than accusatory. "Why are you accusing our cat of cheating on you?"

Ron turned to Hermione, a completely serious look on his face. "No, Hermione, listen. For the past five years, Crookshanks has faithfully sat on my lap during dinner, curled up beside me on the couch, and slept between us at night. Now, he doesn't do any of that!"

After they moved in together, Ron had undergone a lengthy campaign armed with the best cat treats money could buy and had miraculously wooed Crookshanks into liking him. These days, the two of them got along better than Hermione did with Crookshanks and were almost inseparable.

Hermione thought back. It was true that she hadn't seen Crookshanks around lately at all, but she also hadn't been home a lot lately either.

"Hm," was all she said.

"This is a big deal Hermione!" Ron said, distraught. "Where does he even go? I've tried looking for him at night but he's nowhere in the house. What if he's found another family and wants to move in with them instead?"

So _that _was why Ron had been getting into and out of bed so often recently.

"You should've told me this was what you were worried about, instead of having me worry over _you _for an entire week!" Hermione exclaimed.

Ron shrugged. "You had that big project going on so you've been coming home late and all. Didn't need to bother you with more things."

Hermione sighed, half fond, half exasperated. "You know, Crookshanks can take care of himself."

"I _know_ he can. But aren't you just a little curious about where he keeps disappearing off to? We should follow him and see where he does."

Hermione squirmed. "Well...I guess it wouldn't hurt."

...

The very next night, they put their plan into action.

Ron was in the living room fiddling with his chess set to put up a pretense of normalcy as Crookshanks slipped out of the room. Earlier that evening, Hermione had loudly declared that she was tired so she was going to retire early and go to bed. In actuality, she was camped outside just beyond the where the cat door led out.

When she spotted Crookshanks' lithe body, she contacted Ron. He quickly and quietly joined her outside, invisibility cloak in hand—Harry had had many questions, of which they answered none of—and together they began to follow their cat.

The two of them exchanged a quick glance as the ground beneath them began to change from downy earth to paved cobblestone. They were entering the town. Before them, Crookshanks make a hard right into an unmarked alleyway, the two owners quick behind him.

What greeted them was a dead-end path and a couple piles of trash. Crookshanks had settled back on his haunches, his tail curled patiently over his feet.

"Ron, look!" Hermione said in a hushed whisper. She gestured to a small corner of the alleyway where another white head poked out to greet Crookshanks. As the feline's body fully emerged, Hermione let out a startled gasp.

"That's one really fat cat," Ron said.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "She's _pregnant_."

Tugging her husband out of hiding, the two of them approached the cats without any more pretense. Crookshanks looked up as they approached and twined around their legs in greeting, while the other cat backed up skittishly.

Hermione crouched down and offered her a hand. Slowly, the white cat's curiosity got the better of her and she crept closer.

"Crookshanks is going to be a _dad_," she said, awed, as she slowly pet the cat. "What do we do? Is she a stray? Do we take her in? What do we name her?"

Ron didn't seem to be overly concerned about the details. When she looked back, he was staring down Crookshanks with a wounded expression on his face.

"He _was _cheating on me!"

* * *

_Hey, no one ever said it had to be a human-human relationship..._


End file.
